Selectively enabling features based on rules

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a system and method for performing operations comprising providing to a client device, a messaging application comprising multiple features; accessing a configuration rule that associates a device property rule with a feature; determining at a first point in time, that a property of the client device matches the device property rule associated with the configuration rule; in response to determining that the property of the client device matches the device property rule associated with the configuration rule, enabling the feature on the client device at the first point in time; receiving an updated property of the client device at a second point in time; and in response to determining that the updated property of the client device fails to match the device property rule associated with the configuration rule at the second point in time, disabling the feature on the client device.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/384,490, filed on Apr. 15, 2019, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to application features inmessaging applications.

BACKGROUND

As consumption of content on mobile devices continues to grow,application developers seek new ways to engage users. Applicationdevelopers constantly release new versions of their applications thathave additional features to keep their users interested. Applicationdevelopers, though, infrequently consider the capabilities of thehardware devices used to run the applications which can negativelyimpact the new application releases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. To easily identifythe discussion of any particular element or act, the most significantdigit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number inwhich that element is first introduced. Some embodiments are illustratedby way of example, and not limitation, in the figures of theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network,according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating data which may be stored inthe database of a messaging server system, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a messagegenerated by a messaging client application for communication, accordingto example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example selective feature enablingsystem, according to example embodiments.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts illustrating example operations of theselective feature enabling system, according to example embodiments.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are illustrative inputs and outputs of the selectivefeature enabling system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a representative softwarearchitecture, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine able toread instructions from a machine-readable medium (e.g., amachine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, according to example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products thatembody illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide an understanding of variousembodiments. It will be evident, however, to those skilled in the art,that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Ingeneral, well-known instruction instances, protocols, structures, andtechniques are not necessarily shown in detail.

Typically, application developers release new versions of theirapplications to add, remove, or modify features of their applications.In developing new versions of the applications, though, the applicationdevelopers rarely consider the impact of the features on the underlyinghardware. Specifically, features added to new application versions growin complexity at a faster rate than that which the hardware capabilitiesof the devices on which the applications run can handle As a result,when the new versions of the applications are released, the devicesrunning the new versions experience severe lag and over-consumption ofresources, such as faster battery drain. This not only negativelyimpacts how the new version of the application runs on the device butalso negatively impacts other applications that are running on thedevice. This results in a poor user experience and unnecessary waste ofresources.

The disclosed embodiments improve the efficiency of using the electronicdevice by automatically selectively enabling/disabling a givenapplication feature based on determining whether resources of the deviceconsumed by the feature exceed the underlying capabilities of a device.Specifically, the disclosed embodiments provide, to a client device, amessaging application that includes a plurality of features. Thedisclosed embodiments access a configuration rule that associates afirst device property rule, such as the operating system version, theapplication version, the device model, the build of the application, theprocessor of the device, and so forth, with a first feature of theplurality of features of the messaging application. The disclosedembodiments determine that a first property of the client device matchesthe first device property rule associated with the first configurationrule, and in response, enable the first feature of the plurality offeatures on the client device. In cases where the first property of theclient device fails to match the first device property rule associatedwith the first configuration rule, the disclosed embodiments disable thefirst feature on the client device.

In this way, features of the messaging application that do not satisfyconfiguration rules associated with the features, thereby indicatingthat the features exceed capabilities of the device, remain disabled orare disabled. This increases the efficiency of running the messagingapplication on the device without wasting resources or degrading theoverall user experience. In particular, rather than avoiding launchingor running the messaging application on the device, such as because ithas features that exceed the capabilities of the device, those featuresthat exceed the capabilities are turned OFF or disabled, which allowsthe messaging application to run on the device without overly burdeningthe memory, bandwidth, and processing resources of the device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network106. The messaging system 100 includes multiple client devices 102, eachof which hosts a number of applications, including a messaging clientapplication 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via the network 106(e.g., the Internet).

Accordingly, each messaging client application 104 is able tocommunicate and exchange data with another messaging client application104 and with the messaging server system 108 via the network 106. Thedata exchanged between messaging client applications 104 and between amessaging client application 104 and the messaging server system 108includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well aspayload data (e.g., text, audio, video, or other multimedia data).

The messaging client application 104 includes multiple features. Forexample, the messaging client application 104 can include a maps featurethat allows a user to see where his/her contacts or friends aregeographically in a graphical map-based interface. The messaging clientapplication 104 can include a messaging feature allowing a user toexchange messages with one or more friends. The messaging clientapplication 104 can include a games feature allowing a user to playgames via the messaging client application 104 with one or more friendson the messaging client application 104. The messaging clientapplication 104 can include a memories feature in which images andvideos captured by the user using a camera-enabled device running themessaging client application 104 are stored. The messaging clientapplication 104 can include a discover feature allowing the user toaccess a graphical user interface in which content, such as videos andimages, that other users of the messaging client application 104, whichare friends or not friends of the user, captured, submitted and posted.The messaging client application 104 can include a friends feed featurewhich shows a user a chronologically-arranged list of status updates,images, videos, and content generated and associated with the user'sfriends. The messaging client application 104 can include an imagerecognition feature that processes a real-time or stored video or imageto identify and recognize objects depicted in the video or image.

The messaging client application 104 can include an avatar feature whichallows a user to create an animated avatar representation of the user tobe shared with the user's friends and to view avatar representations ofthe user's friends on the messaging client application 104 in any of thegraphical user interfaces of the messaging client application 104, suchas in the map-based graphical user interface. The messaging clientapplication 104 can include a lens feature allowing the user to overlaytwo-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) graphical virtual objects(such as filters or geographically-relevant content) onto a scenedepicted in real-time or stored images or videos that are/were capturedby a camera-enabled device running the messaging client application 104.The messaging client application 104 can include a video encoding ordecoding feature allowing a user device to capture and store a video inone or more formats and/or transcode a previously captured video. Themessaging client application 104 can include an encryption featureallowing a user to encrypt/decrypt messages or content exchanged usingthe messaging client application 104 with one or more other users. Themessaging client application 104 can include a backup feature whichautomatically stores copies, on a server, of content the messagingclient application 104 captured using the device running the messagingclient application 104.

Any one or combination of these and other features discussed above andbelow of the messaging client application 104 may be installed andintegrated in the messaging client application 104 when the messagingclient application 104 is initially downloaded and installed on theclient device 102. In an embodiment, certain ones of the features of themessaging client application 104, even though they are installed withthe messaging client application 104 on the client device 102, are in adisabled state by default. This means that when the messaging clientapplication 104 runs or is launched and executed on the client device102, the features are inaccessible and invisible to the user. Namely,options to access the disabled features are prevented from beingdisplayed in any graphical user interface of the messaging clientapplication 104, In some implementations, the messaging clientapplication 104 can enable a feature that is by default in a disabledstate. In such cases, after the feature is enabled, the messaging clientapplication 104 presents an option to a user in a graphical userinterface allowing the user to access the feature. In some embodiments,in cases where a particular feature is disabled by default, when any ofmultiple configuration rules that are associated with the particularfeature matches or is satisfied by properties of the client device 102and/or the user of the client device 102, the selective feature enablingsystem 124 uses a prioritization or ranking technique to select one ofthe multiple configuration rules to override the default disabled stateof the particular feature.

In some embodiments, the messaging client application 104 is downloadedand installed on the client device 102 only with those features that arein an enabled state. When a new feature is requested or is needed to beadded to the messaging client application 104 at some later point intime, the new feature is downloaded from the server (e.g., codecorresponding to the new feature is retrieved from the server) andintegrated into the messaging client application 104. The messagingclient application 104 can then use the newly downloaded code to enablea user to launch the new feature.

In some embodiments, the messaging client application 104 communicateswith a selective feature enabling system 124 to identify one or morefeatures of the messaging client application 104 to enable or disable.The selective feature enabling system 124 utilizes a set ofconfiguration rules to identify which features to enable or disable. Inan embodiment, the selective feature enabling system 124 receives anidentifier of the client device 102 on which the messaging clientapplication 104 is implemented. The selective feature enabling system124 uses the identifier to retrieve a set of configuration rulesassociated with the client device 102. Specifically, the selectivefeature enabling system 124 can determine one or more properties of theclient device 102, such as a device type, available memory storagespace, current battery, level, disk level attributes, operating systemversion, messaging client application 104 version, processor type, orany other hardware capability of the client device 102 using theidentifier. In an embodiment, the selective feature enabling system 124searches a database to retrieve the set of configuration rulesassociated with the identifier.

In an embodiment, the selective feature enabling system 124 selects aparticular feature of the messaging client application 104 that isenabled or disabled currently on the messaging client application 104that is running or installed on the client device 102. The selectivefeature enabling system 124 identifies a set of configuration rules orjust one configuration rule that is associated with the particularfeature. In cases where multiple configuration rules are associated withthe particular feature, the selective feature enabling system 124 uses aprioritization or ranking technique to select only one of the multipleconfiguration rules. Once the configuration rule is selected, theselective feature enabling system 124 obtains one or more deviceproperty rules and/or one or more user information rules specified inthe configuration rule. For example, the configuration rule can specifya particular Boolean, scalar or complex construct expression thatlogically or otherwise combines the one or more device property rulesand/or one or more user information rules. The selective featureenabling system 124 evaluates whether the configuration rule issatisfied (e.g., the expression of the rule is determined to be TRUE) ornot satisfied (e.g., the expression of the rule is determined to beFALSE) using device properties and/or user information of the clientdevice 102.

In some embodiments, the selective feature enabling system 124communicates a portion of the configuration rule (e.g., a given portionof the expression of the rule) to be evaluated by the client device 102.In this way, some information that is available only to the clientdevice 102 and is not available to the selective feature enabling system124 and is included in the configuration rule can be used to determineif the rule is satisfied. Namely, a first portion of the configurationrule can be evaluated by the selective feature enabling system 124 and asecond portion of the same configuration rule can be evaluated by theclient device 102. The client device 102 can transmit the results of theevaluation of the second portion of the configuration rule to theselective feature enabling system 124 to be combined with the results ofthe evaluation of the first portion. For example, the selective featureenabling system 124 does not have access to information such as theamount of free memory, current battery level, or the currently availablebandwidth of the client device 102 but does have information indicatingthe processor speed and type of the client device 102. Namely, certaininformation about the client device 102 remains physically unchangeableand so can be stored on the selective feature enabling system 124 foraccess independently of the client device 102. Other informationdynamically changes throughout the life of the device, such as thecurrently available bandwidth or battery level, current geographicallocation, and so when such information is included in the configurationrule parameters, the client device 102 needs to be involved inevaluating that portion of the configuration rule.

In some embodiments, as part of having the client device 102 evaluate arule, the selective feature enabling system 124 transmits a benchmarkassociated with the rule that represents functionality of the featureassociated with the rule. The client device 102 can run the benchmark byexecuting code included in the benchmark and provide performance resultsto the selective feature enabling system 124 of how the client device102 ran the benchmark. The selective feature enabling system 124 canthen use the performance results to evaluate parameters of theconfiguration rule. This way, before a feature of the messaging clientapplication 104 is enabled on the client device 102, the benchmarkrepresenting functions of the feature can be run by the client device102 to verify that the feature will run without degrading or negativelyimpacting the messaging client application 104 or other applicationsinstalled and running on the client device 102. Specifically, thebenchmark may be designed to consume the same amount and types ofprocessor capabilities and resources of a given device as the associatedfeature of the messaging client application 104. This allows theselective feature enabling system 124 to test whether the processorcapabilities and device resources required by the corresponding featureof the messaging client application 104 are available on the clientdevice 102 using the benchmark without and before enabling theparticular feature.

In an embodiment, when the selective feature enabling system 124determines that the configuration rule is not satisfied (e.g., becauseany one or combination of parameters of the expression specified by therule is not met by or do not match the device properties and/or userinformation of the client device 102), the selective feature enablingsystem 124 maintains the feature associated with the configuration rulein a disabled state. Alternatively, if the feature was previouslyenabled, then the selective feature enabling system 124 now changes thefeature to be in a disabled state. When the selective feature enablingsystem 124 determines that the configuration rule is satisfied (e.g.,the combination of parameters of the expression specified by the ruleare all met by or match the device properties and/or user information ofthe client device 102), the selective feature enabling system 124maintains the feature associated with the configuration rule in anenabled state or transitions the state of the feature from a disabledstate to an enabled state. In some circumstances, the selective featureenabling system 124 transmits code segments of the particular featurethat is being transitioned to the enabled state to the client device 102to update the messaging client application 104 and enable the messagingclient application 104 to access the particular feature.

In some embodiments, the configuration rules stored in the databaseaccessible to the selective feature enabling system 124 are dynamicallyupdated to include new rules or to change or delete previously storedrules. Such updates are performed by providing application developers ordevelopers of the messaging client application 104 with access via agraphical user interface to the rules. The application developer candefine a new configuration rule using the graphical user interface byspecifying various parameters such as a Boolean expression thatlogically combines one or more device property rules and/or one or moreuser information rules and identifies an action associated with afeature of the particular messaging client application 104 to performwhen the parameters of the configuration rule are satisfied. Such anaction can include enabling the feature, disabling the feature,modifying components of the feature, downloading additional codeassociated with the feature, prefetching video content for a particularuser, and so forth. The graphical user interface may also allow thedeveloper to assign a priority or rank to the configuration rule whichmay be used by the selective feature enabling system 124 when a givenfeature is associated with multiple matching configuration rules. Thegraphical user interface may also allow the developer to specify a setof portions of the configuration rule to be evaluated by the selectivefeature enabling system 124 and another set of portions of theconfiguration rule to be evaluated by the client device 102. As referredto herein, evaluating a rule means comparing current data (e.g., currentdevice properties and/or user information) with the combination of thecorresponding rule parameters to determine whether those parametersmatch the current data. Namely, evaluating a rule means determiningwhether an expression of the rule is TRUE or FALSE given the currentdata associated with the rule parameters.

As an example, a configuration rule includes an expression that, whensatisfied, instructs the messaging client application 104 to prefetch orautomatically download a set of videos or images provided by other usersof the messaging client application 104. Such an expression can includea logical AND operation of a first device property rule (e.g., batterylevel exceeds 70), a second device property rule (e.g., the device ispart of a cluster of devices that is greater than 6), and a logical ORoperation of a third device property rule (e.g., bandwidth of the deviceis greater than 100 Mbps) and a user information rule (e.g., a userconsumes more than 25 videos that were provided by other users per day).As such, in a given circumstance in which a given client device 102 hasa battery level of 80 that exceeds the battery level 70 specified by thefirst device property rule, is part of a device cluster that exceeds 6devices, and has a bandwidth greater than 100 Mbps or is used by a userthat consumes more than 25 videos provided by other users per day; theselective feature enabling system 124 instructs the messaging clientapplication 104 to prefetch or automatically download a set of videos orimages provided by other users of the messaging client application 104.

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed either by a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, it will be appreciated that the location ofcertain functionality within either the messaging client application 104or the messaging server system 108 is a design choice. For example, itmay be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technology andfunctionality within the messaging server system 108, but to latermigrate this technology and functionality to the messaging clientapplication 104 where a client device 102 has a sufficient processingcapacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Thisdata may include message content, client device information, geolocationinformation, media annotation and overlays, virtual objects, messagecontent persistence conditions, social network information, and liveevent information, as examples. Data exchanges within the messagingsystem 100 are invoked and controlled through functions available viauser interfaces (UIs) of the messaging client application 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anapplication programming interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a database server118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which is stored dataassociated with messages processed by the application server 112.

Dealing specifically with the API server 110, this server 110 receivesand transmits message data (e.g., commands and message payloads) betweenthe client device 102 and the application server 112. Specifically, theAPI server 110 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines andprotocols) that can be called or queried by the messaging clientapplication 104 in order to invoke functionality of the applicationserver 112. The API server 110 exposes various functions supported bythe application server 112, including account registration; loginfunctionality; the sending of messages, via the application server 112,from a particular messaging client application 104 to another messagingclient application 104; the sending of media files (e.g., images orvideo) from a messaging client application 104 to a messaging serverapplication 114, for possible access by another messaging clientapplication 104; the setting of a collection of media data (e.g.,story); the retrieval of such collections; the retrieval of a list offriends of a user of a client device 102; the retrieval of messages andcontent; the adding and deleting of friends to and from a social graph;the retrieval of one or more features (e.g., executable code segments ofthe one or more features) of the messaging client application 104, suchas features that are in a disabled state on the messaging clientapplication 104; the location of friends within a social graph; accessto user conversation data; access to avatar information stored on themessaging server system 108; and the opening of an application event(e.g., relating to the messaging client application 104).

The application server 112 hosts a number of applications andsubsystems, including the messaging server application 114, an imageprocessing system 116, a social network system 122, and the selectivefeature enabling system 124. The messaging server application 114implements a number of message processing technologies and functions,particularly related to the aggregation and other processing of content(e.g., textual and multimedia content) included in messages receivedfrom multiple instances of the messaging client application 104. As willbe described in further detail, the text and media content from multiplesources may be aggregated into collections of content (e.g., calledstories or galleries). These collections are then made available, by themessaging server application 114, to the messaging client application104. Other processor- and memory-intensive processing of data may alsobe performed server-side by the messaging server application 114, inview of the hardware requirements for such processing.

The application server 112 also includes the image processing system116, which is dedicated to performing various image processingoperations, typically with respect to images or video received withinthe payload of a, message at the messaging server application 114.

The social network system 122 supports various social networkingfunctions and services and makes these functions and services availableto the messaging server application 114. To this end, the social networksystem 122 maintains and accesses an entity graph within the database120. Examples of functions and services supported by the social networksystem 122 include the identification of other users of the messagingsystem 100 with whom a particular user has relationships or whom theparticular user is “following,” and also the identification of otherentities and interests of a particular user. Such other users may bereferred to as the user's friends. The social network system 122 mayaccess location information associated with each of the user's friendsto determine where they live or are currently located geographically.The social network system 122 may maintain a location profile for eachof the user's friends indicating the geographical location where theuser's friends live.

The application server 112 is communicatively coupled to the databaseserver 118, which facilitates access to the database 120 in which isstored data associated with messages processed by the messaging serverapplication 114.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram 200 illustrating data, which may be storedin the database 120 of the messaging server system 108, according tocertain example embodiments. While the content of the database 120 isshown to comprise a number of tables, it will be appreciated that thedata could be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., as anobject-oriented database).

The database 120 includes message data stored within a message table214. An entity table 202 stores entity data, including an entity graph204. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table202 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects,places, events, and so forth. Regardless of type, any entity regardingwhich the messaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognizedentity. Each entity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as anentity type identifier (not shown).

The entity graph 204 furthermore stores information regardingrelationships and associations between entities. Such relationships maybe social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation ororganization), interest-based, or activity-based, merely for example.

The message table 214 may store a collection of conversations between auser and one or more friends or entities. The message table 214 mayinclude various attributes of each conversation, such as the list ofparticipants, the size of the conversation (e.g., number of users and/ornumber of messages), the chat color of the conversation, a uniqueidentifier for the conversation, and any other conversation-relatedfeature(s).

The database 120 also stores annotation data, in the example form offilters, in an annotation table 212. The database 120 also storesannotated content received in the annotation table 212. Filters forwhich data is stored within the annotation table 212 are associated withand applied to videos (for which data is stored in a video table 210)and/or images (for which data is stored in an image table 208). Filters,in one example, are overlays that are displayed as overlaid on an imageor video during presentation to a recipient user. Filters may be ofvarious types, including user-selected filters from a gallery of filterspresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104 whenthe sending user is composing a message. Other types of filters includegeolocation filters (also known as geo-filters), which may be presentedto a sending user based on geographic location. For example, geolocationfilters specific to a neighborhood or special location may be presentedwithin a UI by the messaging client application 104, based ongeolocation information determined by a Global Positioning System (GPS)unit of the client device 102. Another type of filter is a data filter,which may be selectively presented to a sending user by the messagingclient application 104, based on other inputs or information gathered bythe client device 102 during the message creation process. Examples ofdata filters include a current temperature at a specific location, acurrent speed at which a sending user is traveling, a battery life for aclient device 102, or the current time.

Other annotation data that may be stored within the image table 208 isso-called “lens” data. A “lens” may be a real-time special effect andsound that may be added to an image or a video.

Configuration rules 207 stores a set of configuration rules associatedwith different features of the messaging client application 104. In somecases, multiple configuration rules 207 are associated with the samefeature of the messaging client application 104. In some cases, only oneconfiguration rule is associated with a corresponding one of thefeatures of the messaging client application 104. The configurationrules 207 may be indexed by device type, build of the messaging clientapplication 104, version of the messaging client application 104,geographical location, processor type, user attribute, user friends, orany other suitable device property or user information or combination ofinformation. Rules stored in the configuration rules 207 can be accessedby any component in the system and/or by authorized devices or users.Rules can be added, modified, or deleted to/from the configuration rules207 via a graphical user interface presented to an application developerof the messaging client application 104. In some embodiments,configuration rules stored in the configuration rules 207 are associatedwith an owner (e.g., a creator of the rule) and, in such cases, theconfiguration rules 207 can only be modified or deleted by theassociated owner using an owner identifier.

Certain rules stored in the configuration rules 207 can be selectivelyactivated based on a time of day, device context or other suitableattribute. Inactive rules are not used in evaluating whether a givendevice satisfies a rule to perform an action for a feature of themessaging client application 104.

Benchmarks 209 stores a set of benchmarks associated with differentfeatures of the messaging client application 104. In some cases,multiple benchmarks are associated with the same feature of themessaging client application 104. In some cases, only one benchmark isassociated with a corresponding one of the features of the messagingclient application 104. Each benchmark in benchmarks 209 simulatesvarious processor and device operations that the corresponding featureof the messaging client application 104 performs. In some cases,different benchmarks can be associated with different device types,builds of the messaging client application 104, versions of themessaging client application 104, geographical locations, processortypes, user attributes, user friends, or any other suitable deviceproperty or user information or combination of information. Thebenchmarks 209 store snippets of code that represent operationsperformed by the corresponding feature of the messaging clientapplication 104. In some cases, the snippets of code include simulationsof only the most complex operations performed by the feature of themessaging client application 104.

Device capabilities 220 stores a list of standard resources, processortypes, memory types and other suitable device properties of differentdevice models and types. In some cases, each client device 102 of themessaging client application 104 may provide, upon installation of themessaging client application 104, its corresponding standard physicalcapabilities. Such capabilities can be stored and indexed by a deviceidentifier associated with the client device 102. In some embodiments,the device capabilities 220 stores dynamic device properties, such asbattery levels, available storage space, network type, and bandwidth forone or more client devices 102. In such cases, the dynamic deviceproperties for a given device can be updated periodically orcontinuously by polling or requesting such information from the givendevice. In some cases, the device capabilities 220 groups variousdevices and their capabilities into clusters of devices of similar typesby grouping the corresponding identifiers of the devices into the samecluster of devices. In some embodiments, the device capabilities 220organizes and clusters the device capabilities 220 by friends associatedwith the devices such that device capabilities 220 of devices used by agiven collection of friends, as indicated by the entity graph 204, isgrouped together. In some embodiments, the device capabilities 220organizes and clusters the device by geographical region associated withthe devices.

User information 221 stores profiles for various users of the messagingclient application 104. Such information may include how active eachuser is, which features of the messaging client application 104 eachuser frequently uses, user upload history, developer status, whether theuser is a beta tester, how often a given feature of the messaging clientapplication 104 is used by each user, a geographical location associatedwith each user, and any other suitable information or combination ofsuch information. The user information 221 is updated continuously orperiodically as users utilize the messaging client application 104.

As mentioned above, the video table 210 stores video data which, in oneembodiment, is associated with messages for which records are maintainedwithin the message table 214. Similarly, the image table 208 storesimage data associated with messages for which message data is stored inthe entity table 202. The entity table 202 may associate variousannotations from the annotation table 212 with various images and videosstored in the image table 208 and the video table 210.

A story table 206 stores data regarding collections of messages andassociated image, video, or audio data, which are compiled into acollection (e.g., a story or a gallery). The creation of a particularcollection may be initiated by a particular user (e.g., any user forwhich a record is maintained in the entity table 202). A user may createa “personal story” in the form of a collection of content that has beencreated and sent/broadcast by that user. To this end, the UI of themessaging client application 104 may include an icon that isuser-selectable to enable a sending user to add specific content to hisor her personal story.

A collection may also constitute a “live story,” which is a collectionof content from multiple users that is created manually, automatically,or using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example,a “live story” may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted contentfrom various locations and events. Users whose client devices 102 havelocation services enabled and are at a common location event at aparticular time may, for example, be presented with an option, via a UIof the messaging client application 104, to contribute content to aparticular live story. The live story may be identified to the user bythe messaging client application 104 based on his or her location. Theend result is a “live story” told from a community perspective.

A further type of content collection is known as a “location story,”which enables a user whose client device 102 is located within aspecific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus)to contribute to a particular collection. In some embodiments, acontribution to a location story may require a second degree ofauthentication to verify that the end user belongs to a specificorganization or other entity (e.g., is a student on the universitycampus).

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message 300,according to some embodiments, generated by a messaging clientapplication 104 for communication to a further messaging clientapplication 104 or the messaging server application 114. The content ofa particular message 300 is used to populate the message table 214stored within the database 120, accessible by the messaging serverapplication 114. Similarly, the content of a message 300 is stored inmemory as “in-transit” or “in-flight” data of the client device 102 orthe application server 112. The message 300 is shown to include thefollowing components:

-   -   A message identifier 302: a unique identifier that identifies        the message 300.    -   A message text payload 304: text, to be generated by a user via        a UI of the client device 102 and that is included in the        message 300.    -   A message image payload 306: image data, captured by a camera        component of a client device 102 or retrieved from memory of a        client device 102, and that is included in the message 300.    -   A message video payload 308: video data, captured by a camera        component or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102 and that is included in the message 300.    -   A message audio payload 310: audio data, captured by a        microphone or retrieved from the memory component of the client        device 102, and that is included in the message 300.    -   Message annotations 312: annotation data (e.g., filters,        stickers, or other enhancements) that represents annotations to        be applied to the message image payload 306, message video        payload 308, or message audio payload. 310 of the message 300.    -   A message duration parameter 314: a parameter value indicating,        in seconds, the amount of time for which content of the message        300 (e.g., the message image payload 306, message video payload        308, or message audio payload 310) is to be presented or made        accessible to a user via the messaging client application 104.    -   A message geolocation parameter 316: geolocation data (e.g.,        latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates) associated with the        content payload of the message 300. Multiple message geolocation        parameter 316 values may be included in the payload, with each        of these parameter values being associated with content items        included in the content (e.g., a specific image within the        message image payload 306, or a specific video in the message        video payload 308).    -   A message story identifier 318: an identifier value identifying        one or more content collections (e.g., “stories”) with which a        particular content item in the message image payload 306 of the        message 300 is associated. For example, multiple images within        the message image payload 306 may each be associated with        multiple content collections using identifier values.    -   A message tag 320: each message 300 may be tagged with multiple        tags, each of which is indicative of the subject matter of        content included in the message payload. For example, where a        particular image included in the message image payload 306        depicts an animal (e.g., a lion), a tag value may be included        within the message tag 320 that is indicative of the relevant        animal. Tag values may be generated manually, based on user        input, or may be automatically generated using, for example,        using image recognition.    -   A message sender identifier 322: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of a user of the client device 102 on        which the message 300 was generated and from which the message        300 was sent.    -   A message receiver identifier 324: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of one or more users of the client        device(s) 102 to which the message 300 is addressed. In the case        of a conversation between multiple users, the identifier may        indicate each user involved in the conversation.

The contents (e.g., values) of the various components of the message 300may be pointers to locations in tables within which content data valuesare stored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 306may be a pointer to (or address of) a location within the image table208. Similarly, values within the message video payload 308 may point todata stored within the video table 210, values stored within the messageannotations 312 may point to data stored in the annotation table 212,values stored within the message story identifier 318 may point to datastored in the story table 206, and values stored within the messagesender identifier 322 and the message receiver identifier 324 may pointto user records stored within the entity table 202.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example selective feature enablingsystem 124, according to example embodiments. The selective featureenabling system 124 includes a feature selection module 411, aconfiguration rule selection module 419, a configuration rule evaluationmodule 416, a user information module 414, a device properties module412, a configuration rule evaluation module 416, and a feature actionmodule 418.

Feature selection module 411 communicates with a messaging clientapplication 104 implemented on a given client device 102 to identify afeature of the messaging client application 104 to analyze. The featurecan be a feature that is currently enabled or is currently disabled. Inan embodiment, the feature selection module 411 cycles through apredetermined list of features over time to verify that the featureshould be in their enabled or disabled state and change their state if agiven configuration rule is satisfied indicating a state change isneeded.

The feature selection module 411 may access user information 221 toinfer user behavior and interest in having a particular feature of themessaging client application 104 enabled. For example, the userinformation 221 may indicate that the user has recently started usingthe camera of the camera-enabled device on which the messaging clientapplication 104 is implemented to capture and share videos. The featureselection module 411 may also determine that the lens feature (e.g., afeature that utilizes object recognition and allows a user to insert 2Dor 3D graphical objects) is currently disabled on the device and is afeature that is popular among the user's friends or a set of users whofrequently share videos. The feature selection module 411 may, inresponse, communicate the selected feature to the configuration ruleselection module 419 to determine whether or not to activate the featureor perform an action associated with the feature. Similarly, the featureselection module 411 may determine that the lens feature is currentlyenabled but that the user of the device on which the feature is enabledhas not captured video using the camera-enabled device in over athreshold period of time. In response, feature selection module 411 maycommunicate the selected feature to the configuration rule selectionmodule 419 to determine whether or not to de-activate or disable thefeature or perform an action associated with the feature.

As another example, the feature selection module 411 may determine thata geographical location of the user of the messaging client application104 has changed. In response, the feature selection module 411 mayidentify a set of features that are location dependent and provide oneor more of the identified features to the configuration rule selectionmodule 419 to determine whether an action should be performed for suchfeatures. As another example, the feature selection module 411 receivesa version identifier or client device 102 identifier and retrieves a setof features that are disabled on the client device 102. The featureselection module 411 provides the retrieved set of features to theconfiguration rule selection module 419 for analysis as to whether toenable the features. Similarly, the feature selection module 411receives a version identifier or client device 102 identifier andretrieve a set of features that are enabled on the client device 102.The selection module 411 provides the retrieved set of features to theconfiguration rule selection module 419 for analysis as to whether todisable the features.

Configuration rule selection module 419 retrieves one or moreconfiguration rules from configuration rules 207 that are associatedwith the features received from the feature selection module 411. Theconfiguration rule selection module 419 determines which configurationrules, that are associated with the feature, are active and associatedwith the device identifier and/or user identifier. The configurationrule selection module 419 determines whether multiple such configurationrules match and are associated with the selected feature. In response,the configuration rule selection module 419 retrieves a rank associatedwith each rule and selects the configuration rule with the highest rank.Alternatively, or in addition, the configuration rule selection module419 analyzes a Boolean tree associated with the expression of eachconfiguration rule. Specifically, the configuration rule selectionmodule 419 compares the expressions of each configuration rule that isassociated with the same feature and selects the configuration rule withthe longest expression.

The configuration rule selection module 419 provides the selectedconfiguration rule to the configuration rule evaluation module 416. Theconfiguration rule evaluation module 416 analyzes the expressioncontained in the selected rule to determine which parameters need to beevaluated. For example, the configuration rule evaluation module 416identifies one or more device property rules contained in the expressionand/or user information rules contained in the expression. Theconfiguration rule evaluation module 416 also determines whether therule specifies a particular portion of the expression that needs to beevaluated by the client device 102. The configuration rule evaluationmodule 416 communicates with the user information module 414 to obtainuser information 221 corresponding to the user information rule and/orwith the device properties module 412 to obtain device propertiescorresponding to the device properties rules contained in theexpression.

As an example, the configuration rule includes a first device propertyrule (e.g., a bandwidth greater than 1 Mbps) and a second deviceproperty rule (e.g., a minimum version of the messaging clientapplication 104). As a result, the configuration rule evaluation module416 communicates with the device properties module 412, and provides theclient device 102 identifier to the device properties module 412, toobtain the first device property (e.g., the current bandwidth of theclient device 102) and the second device property (e.g., the currentversion of the messaging client application 104 installed on the clientdevice 102) associated with the first and second device property rules.The device properties module 412 accesses the device capabilities 220 toretrieve the corresponding first and second device properties associatedwith the identifier of the client device 102. If the device capabilities220 only has the first property and not the second property, the deviceproperties module 412 communicates directly with the client device 102to obtain the current value of the second property.

The configuration rule may also include a first user information rule(e.g., a beta user attribute) and a second user information rule (e.g.,accesses or consumes more than 25 videos from other users per day). As aresult, the configuration rule evaluation module 416 communicates withthe user information module 414, and provides the user identifier to theuser information module 414, to obtain the first user information (e.g.,the status of the user, such as whether the user is a beta user) and thesecond user information (e.g., the number of videos from other users theuser consumes per day). The user information module 414 retrieves thefirst and second user information from user information 221 and returnsthe information to the configuration rule evaluation module 416.

In some implementations, the configuration rule evaluation module 416sends a portion of the expression to the client device 102 for theclient device 102 to evaluate the portion of the expression. Forexample, the portion of the expression may specify that a particularbenchmark result has to exceed a given minimum threshold performance. Asa result, the configuration rule evaluation module 416 transmits theportion of the expression including the benchmark, retrieved frombenchmarks 209, to the client device 102 with an instruction for theclient device 102 to run the benchmark. The client device 102, afterrunning the benchmark, may determine whether the performance exceeds thethreshold indicated in the portion of the expression and provide thisevaluation to the configuration rule evaluation module 416. In someimplementations, the configuration rule evaluation module 416 only sendsthe portion of the expression to the client device 102 after verifyingthat another portion of the expression, evaluated at the server, issatisfied. Namely, the configuration rule evaluation module 416evaluates the portions of the expression with the currently availableinformation on the server and if those portions are satisfied, aremaining set of portions of the expression are sent to the clientdevice 102 for evaluation.

In some embodiments, the configuration rule evaluation module 416 sendsan instruction to the client device 102 to re-evaluate the expression ata later point in time if the expression is currently satisfied. If theexpression is later no longer satisfied, the client device 102 mayautomatically disable the feature or perform an action associated withthe feature.

After the configuration rule evaluation module 416 obtains all of theparameters for the expression (e.g., all of the needed device propertiesand/or user information 221), the configuration rule evaluation module416 determines whether the Boolean expression is satisfied. Namely, theconfiguration rule evaluation module 416 determines whether all or someof the received information matches the specified rules or Booleancombination of the rules.

In response to determining that the expression is satisfied, theconfiguration rule evaluation module 416 instructs the feature actionmodule 418 to perform the action associated with the rule (e.g., enablethe feature, disable the feature, or modify the feature). The featureaction module 418 retrieves the action specified for the configurationrule from the configuration rules 207 and then executes thecorresponding action. For example, the feature action module 418transmits code for implementing the feature to the client device 102 toinstall and implement the feature into the messaging client application104, Alternatively, the feature action module 418 sends a message 300 tothe messaging client application 104 with instructions to enable thefeature that is currently installed but disabled on the messaging clientapplication 104. Alternatively, the feature action module 418 sends amessage 300 to the messaging client application 104 with instructions todisable or de-activate the feature that is currently installed andenabled on the messaging client application 104.

As one example, a first feature that the feature selection module 411selects includes object recognition of an image stored on the clientdevice 102. The configuration rule selected by the configuration ruleselection module 419 associates a plurality of device property rulesincluding first, second and third device property rules with the firstfeature. In such circumstances, a current battery level and currentamount of available storage is received by the device properties module412 from the client device 102. The configuration rule evaluation module416 on the server determines that processing capabilities of the clientdevice 102 exceed threshold processing capabilities indicated by thefirst device property rule, the current battery level exceeds a minimumbattery level indicated by the second device property rule, and thecurrent amount of available storage exceeds a minimum available storageamount indicated by the third device property rule. Prior to enablingthe first feature on the client device 102, the server instructs theclient device 102 to determine whether an updated battery level of theclient device 102 exceeds the minimum battery level indicated by thesecond device property rule and that an updated amount of availablestorage of the client device 102 exceeds the minimum available storageamount indicated by the third device property rule.

This way, even though a given rule is satisfied when evaluated based ona first set of device properties is received by the server, the clientdevice 102 can double check that after the feature associated with thegiven rule is enabled, the given rule is still satisfied at some laterpoint in time. Namely, the time between when the server evaluates therule and when the client is instructed to enable the feature may belarge enough such that the battery level on the client device 102 dropsbelow an allowable minimum. To ensure that the battery level is stillabove the allowable minimum after the time has past since the serverevaluated the rule, the client device 102 can test and evaluate thecurrent battery level against the rule prior to enabling the featureand/or while the feature is enabled to determine whether to disable thefeature.

As another example, a second feature that the feature selection module411 selects includes image backup functionality for the client device102. The configuration rule selected by the configuration rule selectionmodule 419 may specify upload stability data and transcoding successparameters with enabling the image backup functionality. Theconfiguration rule evaluation module 416 retrieves informationindicating upload stability data for the client device 102 and atranscoding failure rate of the client device 102 from the deviceproperties module 412. The configuration rule evaluation module 416determines whether the upload stability data exceeds a stabilitythreshold indicated by the rule and that the transcoding failure rateexceeds a transcoding failure rate threshold indicated by the rule. Inresponse to determining that the upload stability data exceeds thestability threshold and that the transcoding failure rate exceeds thetranscoding failure rate threshold, the configuration rule evaluationmodule 416 enables the image backup functionality for the client device102 to backup images captured by the client device 102, such as byinstructing the feature action module 418 to enable this feature on theclient device 102.

As another example, a third feature that the feature selection module411 selects includes a graphical eraser operation that enables a user toerase portions of an image captured by the client device 102. Theconfiguration rule selected by the configuration rule selection module419 may specify minimum performance capabilities a client device 102needs to operate the graphical eraser operation feature. Theconfiguration rule evaluation module 416 retrieves informationindicating a performance metric of the graphical eraser operation byexecuting a benchmark on the client device 102 representing operationsperformed by the graphical eraser operation or retrieving a performancemetric indicating how the benchmark performed on devices similar to theclient device 102 in the past. The configuration rule evaluation module416 determines that the performance metric exceeds a minimum performancethreshold indicated by the first device property rule, in response todetermining that the performance metric exceeds the minimum performancethreshold indicated by the first device property rule, the configurationrule evaluation module 416 enables the graphical eraser operation forthe client.

As another example, a fourth feature that the feature selection module411 selects includes a lens creation or complex lens operations (e.g.,creation of a graphical element that is added to a captured image orcomplex operations associated with such a graphical element, such asanimation, scaling, pixelation, and so forth) that enables a user to addgraphical elements to images captured by the client device 102. Theconfiguration rule selected by the configuration rule selection module419 may specify minimum performance capabilities a client device 102needs to operate the lens creation or complex lens operations features.The configuration rule evaluation module 416 retrieves informationindicating a performance metric of the lens creation or complex lensoperations by executing a benchmark on the client device 102representing operations performed by the lens creation or complex lensoperations or retrieving a performance metric indicating how thebenchmark performed on devices similar to the client device 102 in thepast. The configuration rule evaluation module 416 determines that theperformance metric exceeds a minimum performance threshold indicated bythe first device property rule. In response to determining thatdetermining that the performance metric exceeds the minimum performancethreshold indicated by the first device property rule, the configurationrule evaluation module 416 enables e lens creation or complex lensoperations for the client.

In some embodiments, the feature selection module 411 selects, as thefeature, an upload size for the client device 102 that controls howlarge a given video or image can be that is uploaded by the clientdevice 102. A first feature may correspond to enabling a 4 megabyteupload video or image file, a second feature may correspond to enablinga 5 megabyte upload video or image file, and a third feature maycorrespond to enabling a 2 megabyte upload video or image file. Each ofthe first, second and third features may be associated with a differentconfiguration rule. The configuration rule selection module 419 maydetermine whether the first feature is associated with a configurationrule that is satisfied before evaluating the second and third features.

In an embodiment, the first feature is associated with a firstconfiguration rule that includes the following Boolean expression(application version is greater than 10 AND bandwidth available to theclient device 102 is greater than 1 Mbps AND (the user is a professionaluser OR the messaging application installed on the client device 102 isbeta build)). If the configuration rule evaluation module 416 determinesthat this Boolean expression of the first configuration rule issatisfied, the feature action module 418 is instructed to enable thefirst feature on the client device 102. In an embodiment, the secondfeature is associated with a second configuration rule that includes thefollowing Boolean expression (application version is greater than 10 ANDuser is an application developer of the messaging client application 104AND bandwidth available to the client device 102 is greater than 2Mbps). If the configuration rule evaluation module 416 determines thatthis Boolean expression of the second configuration rule is satisfied,the feature action module 418 is instructed to enable the second featureon the client device 102. In an embodiment, the third feature isassociated with a third configuration rule that includes the followingBoolean expression (application version is greater than 7 AND the useris located in a specified country, such as Brazil AND bandwidthavailable to the client device 102 is less than 512 kbps). If theconfiguration rule evaluation module 416 determines that this Booleanexpression of the third configuration rule is satisfied; the featureaction module 418 is instructed to enable the third feature on theclient device 102.

In some embodiments, the feature selection module 411 selects a featurebased on what is commonly enabled among a group of devices that areassociated with a collection of friends. For example, if a majority offriends in a given group have a given feature enabled that allows videodecoding or transcoding using a first decoding or transcoding technique,other users in the same group of friends may also have the same featureselected. The other users may have capabilities that allow a secondfeature to be enabled that allows for video decoding or transcodingusing a second decoding or transcoding technique, wherein the seconddecoding or transcoding technique is more complex than the firstdecoding or transcoding technique. But because the majority of users inthe group have the given feature enabled, the feature selection module411 selects the given feature rather than the second feature to beenabled on the client devices 102 of the other users. In this way, allthe users in the particular group are able to share media with eachother in the same format that each of the users can process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating example operations of the selectivefeature enabling system 124 in performing a process 500, according toexample embodiments. The process 500 may be embodied incomputer-readable instructions for execution by one or more processorssuch that the operations of the process 500 may be performed in part orin whole by the functional components of the messaging server system 108and/or messaging client application 104; accordingly, the process 500 isdescribed below by way of example with reference thereto. However, inother embodiments, at least some of the operations of the process 500may be deployed on various other hardware configurations. The process500 is therefore not intended to be limited to the messaging serversystem 108 and can be implemented in whole, or in part, by any othercomponent. Some or all of the operations of the process 500 can be inparallel, out of order, or entirely omitted.

At operation 501, the selective feature enabling system 124 selects amessaging application feature. For example, the feature selection module411 selects a given feature of the messaging client application 104 tobe enabled.

At operation 502, the selective feature enabling system 124 accesses aconfiguration rule that includes a configuration rule expressionassociated with the messaging application feature. For example, theconfiguration rule selection module 419 retrieves one or moreconfiguration rules that are associated with the selected featureprovided by the feature selection module 411.

At operation 503, the selective feature enabling system 124 evaluates afirst portion of the expression on a server. For example, theconfiguration rule evaluation module 416 obtains data for one or moreparameters of the configuration rule expression from the userinformation module 414 and/or device properties module 412 anddetermines whether a Boolean expression in the configuration rule issatisfied.

At operation 504, the selective feature enabling system 124 determinesif the first portion of the expression is satisfied. In response todetermining that the first portion of the expression is satisfied, theprocess continues to operation 505, otherwise the process continues tooperation 501.

At operation 505, the selective feature enabling system 124 transmits asecond portion of the expression to a client device 102. For example,the configuration rule evaluation module 416 identifies a portion of theconfiguration rule that needs to be evaluated on the client device 102,such as a benchmark that needs to be run on the client device 102 todetermine the performance of the benchmark or the currently availablebandwidth, battery level or storage space on the client device 102.

At operation 506, the selective feature enabling system 124 evaluatesthe second portion of the expression on the client device 102. Forexample, the configuration rule evaluation module 416 instructs theclient device 102 to evaluate the portion of the rule and transmit anindication of whether the portion of the rule (e.g., the Booleanexpression portion) matches the data obtained on the client device 102and evaluates to be TRUE or FALSE.

At operation 507, the selective feature enabling system 124 determinesif the second portion of the expression is satisfied. In response todetermining that the second portion of the expression is satisfied, theprocess continues to operation 508, otherwise the process continues tooperation 501.

At operation 508, the selective feature enabling system 124 performs anaction associated with the messaging application feature. For example,the feature action module 418 enables or disables or modifies thefeature of the messaging client application 104 on the client device102, such as by sending code segments for implementing and executing theselected feature on the client device 102.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating example operations of the selectivefeature enabling system 124 in performing a process 600, according toexample embodiments. The process 600 may be embodied incomputer-readable instructions for execution by one or more processorssuch that the operations of the process 600 may be performed in part orin whole by the functional components of the messaging server system 108and/or messaging client application 104; accordingly, the process 600 isdescribed below by way of example with reference thereto. However, inother embodiments, at least some of the operations of the process 600may be deployed on various other hardware configurations. The process600 is therefore not intended to be limited to the messaging serversystem 108 and can be implemented in whole, or in part, by any othercomponent. Some or all of the operations of the process 600 can be inparallel, out of order, or entirely omitted.

At operation 601, the selective feature enabling system 124 provides, toa client device 102, a messaging application comprising a plurality offeatures.

At operation 602, the selective feature enabling system 124 accesses afirst configuration rule of a plurality of configuration rules thatassociates a first device property rule with a first feature of theplurality of features of the messaging application.

At operation 603, the selective feature enabling system 124 determinesthat a first property of the client device 102 matches the first deviceproperty rule associated with the first configuration rule at a firstpoint in time.

At operation 604, the selective feature enabling system 124 enables thefirst feature of the plurality of features on the client device 102 inresponse to determining that the first property of the client device 102matches the first device property rule associated with the firstconfiguration rule at the first point in time.

At operation 605, the selective feature enabling system 124 receives anupdated first property of the client device 102 at a second point intime.

At operation 606, the selective feature enabling system 124 in responseto determining that the updated first property of the client device 102fails to match the first device property rule associated with the firstconfiguration rule at the second point in time, disables the firstfeature of the plurality of features on the client device 102.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show illustrative inputs and outputs of the selectivefeature enabling system 124, according to example embodiments. Theinputs and outputs shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 can be implemented by themessaging client application 104. A graphical user interface 700 shownin FIG. 7 is presented by the messaging client application 104 inresponse to receiving a user request to access media (e.g., videosand/or images) uploaded and shared by other users of the messagingclient application 104. In response to, or prior to receiving thisrequest, the selective feature enabling system 124 determines whether afeature of the graphical user interface 700 is to be enabled. Thefeature may correspond to prefetching or downloading thumbnails orvideos of each section of the graphical user interface 700 to the clientdevice 102. If the feature is not enabled (e.g., because the selectivefeature enabling system 124 determines that the client properties and/oruser information 221 do not satisfy and do not match an expression inthe corresponding configuration rule), as shown in the graphical userinterface 700, only selectable text portions 710 and 720 of each sectionare presented, providing titles of the corresponding media. A user canselect a given text portion 710 or 720 to then cause the client device102 to retrieve the corresponding media (e.g., video or image).

If the feature is enabled (e.g., because the selective feature enablingsystem 124 determines that the client properties and/or user information221 do satisfy and do match the expression in a correspondingconfiguration rule), as shown in the graphical user interface 800 (FIG.8), the client device 102 prefetches the corresponding thumbnail imagesand videos 810 and 820 of each title represented in FIG. 7. In this way,as soon as the user accesses the graphical user interface 800, thethumbnails, images and/or videos 810 are presented to the user insteadof simple text. In an embodiment, options may be included or excludedfrom the graphical user interface 800 depending on whether theycorrespond to an enabled or disabled feature of the messaging clientapplication 104. In some embodiments, the graphical user interface 700(FIG. 7) is presented on a first client device 102 for which theselective feature enabling system 124 determines that the clientproperties and/or user information 221 do not satisfy and do not matchan expression in a corresponding configuration rule. Concurrently withthe graphical user interface 700 being presented on the first clientdevice 102, the graphical user interface 800 shown in FIG. 8 ispresented on a second client device 102 for which the selective featureenabling system 124 determines that the client properties and/or userinformation 221 do satisfy and do match the expression in thecorresponding configuration rule.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example software architecture906, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 9 is a non-limiting example of asoftware architecture, and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 906 may execute on hardwaresuch as a machine 1000 of FIG. 10 that includes, among other things,processors 1004, memory 1006 and input/output (I/O) components 1018. Arepresentative hardware layer 952 is illustrated and can represent, forexample, the machine 1000 of FIG. 10. The representative hardware layer952 includes a processing unit 954 having associated executableinstructions 904. The executable instructions 904 represent theexecutable instructions of the software architecture 906, includingimplementation of the methods, components, and so forth describedherein. The hardware layer 952 also includes memory and/or storagemodules memory/storage 956, which also have the executable instructions904, The hardware layer 952 may also comprise other hardware 958.

In the example architecture of FIG. 9, the software architecture 906 maybe conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 906 mayinclude layers such as an operating system 902, libraries 920,frameworks/middleware 918, applications 916, and a presentation layer914. Operationally, the applications 916 and/or other components withinthe layers may invoke API calls 908 through the software stack andreceive messages 912 in response to the API calls 908. The layersillustrated are representative in nature, and not all softwarearchitectures have all layers. For example, some mobile orspecial-purpose operating systems may not provide aframeworks/middleware 918, while others may provide such a layer. Othersoftware architectures may include additional or different layers.

The operating system 902 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 902 may include, for example, akernel 922, services 924, and drivers 926. The kernel 922 may act as anabstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 922 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 924 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 926 areresponsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware.For instance, the drivers 926 include display drivers, camera drivers,Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communication drivers(e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers, audiodrivers, power management drivers, and so forth, depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 920 provide a common infrastructure that is used by theapplications 916 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries920 provide functionality that allows other software components toperform tasks in an easier fashion than by interfacing directly with theunderlying operating system 902 functionality (e.g., kernel 922,services 924, and/or drivers 926). The libraries 920 may include systemlibraries 944 (e.g., C standard library) that may provide functions suchas memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions,mathematical functions, and the like. In addition, the libraries 920 mayinclude API libraries 946 such as media libraries (e.g., libraries tosupport presentation and manipulation of various media formats such asMPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphics libraries (e.g., anOpenGL framework that may be used to render two-dimensional andthree-dimensional graphic content on a display), database libraries(e.g., SQLite that may provide various relational database functions),web libraries (e.g., WebKit that may provide web browsingfunctionality), and the like. The libraries 920 may also include a widevariety of other libraries 948 to provide many other APIs to theapplications 916 and other software components/modules.

The frameworks/middleware 918 (also sometimes referred to as middleware)provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may be used by, theapplications 916 and/or other software components/modules. For example,the frameworks/middleware 918 may provide various graphic UI (GUI)functions, high-level resource management, high-level location services,and so forth. The frameworks/middleware 918 may provide a broad spectrumof other APIs that may be utilized by the applications 916 and/or othersoftware components/modules, some of which may be specific to aparticular operating system 902 or platform.

The applications 916 include built-in applications 938 and/orthird-party applications 940. Examples of representative built-inapplications 938 may include, but are not limited to, a contactsapplication, a browser application, a book reader application, alocation application, a media application, a messaging application,and/or a game application. The third-party applications 940 may includean application developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software developmentkit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform,and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such asIOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. Thethird-party applications 940 may invoke the API calls 908 provided bythe mobile operating system (such as the operating system 902) tofacilitate functionality described herein.

The applications 916 may use built-in operating system functions (e.g.,kernel 922, services 924, and/or drivers 926), libraries 920, andframeworks/middleware 918 to create UIs to interact with users of thesystem. Alternatively, or additionally, in some systems, interactionswith a user may occur through a presentation layer, such as thepresentation layer 914, In these systems, the application/component“logic” can be separated from the aspects of the application/componentthat interact with a user.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1000,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 10 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1000 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1010 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 1000 to perform any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. As such,the instructions 1010 may be used to implement modules or componentsdescribed herein. The instructions 1010 transform the general,non-programmed machine 1000 into a particular machine 1000 programmed tocarry out the described and illustrated functions in the mannerdescribed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 1000 operates as astandalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines.In a networked deployment, the machine 1000 may operate in the capacityof a server machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer distributed) networkenvironment. The machine 1000 may comprise, but not be limited to, aserver computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, a cellulartelephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., asmart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smartdevices, a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a networkbridge, or any machine capable of executing the instructions 1010,sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to be taken by themachine 1000. Further, while only a single machine 1000 is illustrated,the term “machine” shall also be taken to include a collection ofmachines that individually or jointly execute the instructions 1010 toperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The machine 1000 may include processors 1004, memory/storage 1006, andI/O components 1018, which may be configured to communicate with eachother such as via a bus 1002. In an example embodiment, the processors1004 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction setcomputing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC)processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor(DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), aradio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or anysuitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 1008and a processor 1012 that may execute the instructions 1010. The term“processor” is intended to include multi-core processors 1004 that maycomprise two or more independent processors 1008 (sometimes referred toas “cores”) that may execute instructions 1010 contemporaneously.Although FIG. 10 shows multiple processors 1004, the machine 1000 mayinclude a single processor 1008 with a single core, a single processor1008 with multiple cores (e.g., a multi-core processor), multipleprocessors 1004 with a single core, multiple processors 1004 withmultiple cores, or any combination thereof.

The memory/storage 1006 may include a memory 1014, such as a mainmemory, or other memory storage, and a storage unit 1016, bothaccessible to the processors 1004 such as via the bus 1002. The storageunit 1016 and memory 1014 store the instructions 1010 embodying any oneor more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 1010 may also reside, completely or partially, within thememory 1014, within the storage unit 1016, within at least one of theprocessors 1004 (e.g., within the processor 1008's cache memory), or anysuitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine1000. Accordingly, the memory 1014, the storage unit 1016, and thememory of the processors 1004 are examples of machine-readable media.

The I/O components 1018 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1018 that are included in a particular machine 1000 willdepend on the type of machine 1000. For example, portable machines suchas mobile phones will likely include a touch input device or other suchinput mechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely notinclude such a touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/Ocomponents 1018 may include many other components that are not shown inFIG. 10. The I/O components 1018 are grouped according to functionalitymerely for simplifying the following discussion, and the grouping is inno way limiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components 1018may include output components 1026 and input components 1028. The outputcomponents 1026 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 1028 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstruments), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1018 may includebiometric components 1039, motion components 1034, environmentalcomponents 1036, or position components 1038 among a wide array of othercomponents. For example, the biometric components 1039 may includecomponents to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facialexpressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measurebiosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., by voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram-basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1034 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environmental components 1036 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometers that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gassensors to detect concentrations of hazardous gases for safety or tomeasure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other components that mayprovide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding to asurrounding physical environment. The position components 1038 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a GPS receiver component),altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detectair pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensorcomponents (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1018 may include communication components 1040operable to couple the machine 1000 to a network 1037 or devices 1029via a coupling 1024 and a coupling 1022, respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1040 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with the network 1037, In furtherexamples, the communication components 1040 may include wiredcommunication components, wireless communication components, cellularcommunication components, near field communication (NFC) components,Bluetooth®, components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components,and other communication components to provide communication via othermodalities. The devices 1029 may be another machine or any of a widevariety of peripheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via aUSB).

Moreover, the communication components 1040 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1040 may include radio frequency identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1040, such as location via Internet Protocol (IP) geolocation, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting an NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

Glossary

“CARRIER SIGNAL”, in this context, refers to any intangible medium thatis capable of storing, encoding, or carrying transitory ornon-transitory instructions 1010 for execution by the machine 1000, andincludes digital or analog communications signals or other intangiblemedia to facilitate communication of such instructions 1010.Instructions 1010 may be transmitted or received over the network 1037using a transitory or non-transitory transmission medium via a networkinterface device and using any one of a number of well-known transferprotocols.

“CLIENT DEVICE”, in this context, refers to any machine 1000 thatinterfaces to a communications network 1037 to obtain resources from oneor more server systems or other client devices 102. A client device 102may be, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop,PDA, smart phone, tablet, ultra book, netbook, laptop, multi-processorsystem, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronicssystem, game console, set-top box, or any other communication devicethat a user may use to access a network 1037.

“COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK”, in this context, refers to one or moreportions of a network 1037 that may be an ad hoc network, an intranet,an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network(LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN(WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a portion ofthe Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN),a plain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephonenetwork, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network, another type of network,or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, a network1037 or a portion of a network may include a wireless or cellularnetwork and the coupling may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)connection, a Global System for Mobile communications ((SM) connection,or another type of cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, thecoupling may implement any of a variety of types of data transfertechnology, such as Single Carrier Radio Transmission Technology(1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) technology, General PacketRadio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution(EDGE) technology, third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including3G, fourth generation wireless (4G) networks, Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UNITS), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long-TermEvolution (LTE) standard, others defined by various standard-settingorganizations, other long-range protocols, or other data transfertechnology.

“EPHEMERAL MESSAGE”, in this context, refers to a message 300 that isaccessible for a time-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be atext, an image, a video, and the like. The access time for the ephemeralmessage may be set by the message sender. Alternatively, the access timemay be a default setting or a setting specified by the recipient.Regardless of the setting technique, the message 300 is transitory.

“MACHINE-READABLE MEDIUM”, in this context, refers to a component, adevice, or other tangible media able to store instructions 1010 and datatemporarily or permanently and may include, but is not limited to,random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flashmemory, optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, other types ofstorage (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)), and/orany suitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)able to store instructions 1010. The term “machine-readable medium”shall also be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiplemedia, that is capable of storing instructions 1010 (e.g., code) forexecution by a machine 1000, such that the instructions 1010, whenexecuted by one or more processors 1004 of the machine 1000, cause themachine 1000 to perform any one or more of the methodologies describedherein. Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium” refers to a singlestorage apparatus or device, as well as “cloud-based” storage systems orstorage networks that include multiple storage apparatus or devices. Theterm “machine-readable medium” excludes signals per se.

“COMPONENT”, in this context, refers to a device, physical entity, orlogic having boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branchpoints. APIs, or other technologies that provide for the partitioning ormodularization of particular processing or control functions. Componentsmay be combined via their interfaces with other components to carry outa machine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardwareunit designed for use with other components and a part of a program thatusually performs a particular function of related functions. Componentsmay constitute either software components (e.g., code embodied on amachine-readable medium) or hardware components. A “hardware component”is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computersystem, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one ormore hardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or agroup of processors 1004) may be configured by software (e.g., anapplication or application portion) as a hardware component thatoperates to perform certain operations as described herein.

A hardware component may also be implemented mechanically,electronically, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, ahardware component may include dedicated circuitry or logic that ispermanently configured to perform certain operations. A hardwarecomponent may be a special-purpose processor, such as afield-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an ASIC, A hardware componentmay also include programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarilyconfigured by software to perform certain operations. For example, ahardware component may include software executed by a general-purposeprocessor 1004 or other programmable processor. Once configured by suchsoftware, hardware components become specific machines (or specificcomponents of a machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configuredfunctions and are no longer general-purpose processors 1004. It will beappreciated that the decision to implement a hardware componentmechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations. Accordingly, the phrase“hardware component” (or “hardware-implemented component”) should beunderstood to encompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that isphysically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), ortemporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manneror to perform certain operations described herein. Consideringembodiments in which hardware components are temporarily configured(e.g., programmed), each of the hardware components need not beconfigured or instantiated at any one instant in time. For example,where a hardware component comprises a general-purpose processor 1008configured by software to become a special-purpose processor, thegeneral-purpose processor 1008 may be configured as respectivelydifferent special-purpose processors (e.g., comprising differenthardware components) at different times. Software accordingly configuresa particular processor or processors 1004, for example, to constitute aparticular hardware component at one instant of time and to constitute adifferent hardware component at a different instant of time.

Hardware components can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware components. Accordingly, the described hardwarecomponents may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Wheremultiple hardware components exist contemporaneously, communications maybe achieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) between or among two or more of the hardware components. Inembodiments in which multiple hardware components are configured orinstantiated at different times, communications between such hardwarecomponents may be achieved, for example, through the storage andretrieval of information in memory structures to which the multiplehardware components have access. For example, one hardware component mayperform an operation and store the output of that operation in a memorydevice to which it is communicatively coupled. A further hardwarecomponent may then, at a later time, access the memory device toretrieve and process the stored output.

Hardware components may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors 1004that are temporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanentlyconfigured to perform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily orpermanently configured, such processors may constituteprocessor-implemented components that operate to perform one or moreoperations or functions described herein. As used herein,“processor-implemented component” refers to a hardware componentimplemented using one or more processors 1004. Similarly, the methodsdescribed herein may be at least partially processor-implemented, with aparticular processor or processors 1004 being an example of hardware.For example, at least some of the operations of a method may beperformed by one or more processors 1004 or processor-implementedcomponents. Moreover, the one or more processors 1004 may also operateto support performance of the relevant operations in a “cloud computing”environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS). For example, atleast some of the operations may be performed by a group of computers(as examples of machines 1000 including processors 1004), with theseoperations being accessible via a network 1037 (e.g., the Internet) andvia one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an API). The performanceof certain of the operations may be distributed among the processors1004, not only residing within a single machine 1000, but deployedacross a number of machines 1000. In some example embodiments, theprocessors 1004 or processor-implemented components may be located in asingle geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, an officeenvironment, or a server farm). In other example embodiments, theprocessors 1004 or processor-implemented components may be distributedacross a number of geographic locations.

“PROCESSOR”, in this context, refers to any circuit or virtual circuit(a physical circuit emulated by logic executing on an actual processor1008) that manipulates data values according to control signals (e.g.,“commands,” “op codes,” “machine code,” etc.) and which producescorresponding output signals that are applied to operate a machine 1000.A processor 1008 may, for example, be a central processing unit (CPU), areduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complexinstruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit(GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a radio-frequencyintegrated circuit (MC), or any combination thereof, A processor 1008may further be a multi-core processor having two or more independentprocessors 1008 (sometimes referred to as “cores”) that may executeinstructions 1010 contemporaneously.

“TIME STAMP”, in this context, refers to a sequence of characters orencoded information identifying when a certain event occurred, forexample giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to a smallfraction of a second.

Changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. These andother changes or modifications are intended to be included within thescope of the present disclosure, as expressed in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: one or more processorsconfigured to perform operations comprising: inferring that a user of aclient device is interested in a first feature of a plurality offeatures of a messaging application implemented on the client device; inresponse to inferring that the user is interested in the first feature,accessing a first configuration rule of a plurality of configurationrules that associates a first device property rule with the firstfeature of the plurality of features of the messaging application;determining that a first property of the client device matches the firstdevice property rule associated with the first configuration rule; andin response to determining that the first property of the client devicematches the first device property rule associated with the firstconfiguration rule, enabling the first feature of the plurality offeatures on the client device.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst device property rule comprises a specified location or a bandwidthwith the first feature of the plurality of features of the messagingapplication, and wherein the operations further comprise: providing, toa client device, a messaging application comprising the plurality offeatures; comparing a current location of the client device to thespecified location in the first device property rule or comparing anavailable bandwidth of the client device to the bandwidth in the firstdevice property rule; and in response to determining that an updatedfirst property of the client device fails to match the first deviceproperty rule associated with the first configuration rule, disablingthe first feature of the plurality of features on the client device. 3.The system of claim 2, wherein the operations further comprise:accessing a second configuration rule of a plurality of configurationrules that associates a combination of a second device property rule, alocation of a device rule, and a user property rule with a secondfeature of the plurality of features of the messaging application;determining that a second property of the client device, a location ofthe client device, and a user property of a user of the client devicefails to match the combination of the second device property rule, thelocation of the device rule, and the user property rule associated withthe second configuration rule; and in response to determining that thesecond property of the client device, the location of the client deviceand the user property of the user of the client device fails to matchthe combination of the second device property rule; the location of thedevice rule, and the user property rule associated with the secondconfiguration rule, disabling the second feature of the plurality offeatures on the client device.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise generating, for display on the clientdevice, a graphical user interface of a messaging application thatincludes an option to access the first feature without including anoption to access a second feature associated with a second configurationrule.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise:determining that a first property and a second property of anotherclient device and a user property of another user of the another clientdevice satisfy the first and second configuration rules; in response todetermining that the first property and the second property of theanother client device and the user property of the another user of theanother client device satisfy the first and second configuration rules,enabling the first and second features on the another client device; andgenerating, for display on the another client device, the graphical userinterface of the messaging application that includes options to accessthe first and second features.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinenabling the first feature comprises transmitting application codeassociated the first feature to the client device to allow the clientdevice to launch the first feature by executing the application codeassociated with the first feature.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst configuration rule includes an expression with a first portionassociated with the first device property rule and a second portionassociated with a second device property rule, wherein the first portionis evaluated by a server and the second portion is evaluated by theclient device.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first portion isevaluated by: retrieving the first property of the client device from astorage device on a server; and comparing the retrieved first propertyto the first device property rule in the first portion.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the second portion is evaluated by the client device inresponse to determining that the first property matches the first deviceproperty rule, and wherein the second portion is evaluated by:transmitting the second portion to the client device; and causing theclient device to: determine the second property of the client device;and compare the second property of the client device to the seconddevice property rule in the second portion.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the first feature of the messaging application is disabled bydefault when a messaging application is provided to the client device.11. The system of claim 1, wherein the first feature comprises agraphical eraser operation that enables a user to erase portions of animage captured by the client device.
 12. The system of claim 11, whereindetermining that the first property of the client device matches thefirst device property rule associated with the first configuration rulecomprises: retrieving information indicating a performance metric of thegraphical eraser operation by executing a benchmark on the client devicerepresenting operations performed by the graphical eraser operation;determining that the performance metric exceeds a minimum performancethreshold indicated by the first device property rule; and in responseto determining that the performance metric exceeds the minimumperformance threshold indicated by the first device property rule,enabling the graphical eraser operation for the client.
 13. The systemof claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: generating fordisplay a graphical user interface of a messaging application with anoption to access the first feature; and removing the option from thedisplay of the graphical user interface at another point in time. 14.The system of claim 1, wherein determining that the first property ofthe client device matches the first device property rule associated withthe first configuration rule comprises obtaining at least one ofprocessor capabilities of the client device, operating systemcapabilities of the client device, current battery level of the clientdevice, amount of free memory on the client device, video encodingcapabilities of the client device, or a benchmark performance metric ofthe client device.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstconfiguration rule is selected from the plurality of configuration rulesbased on a rank associated with each of the plurality of configurationrules.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the first feature comprisesobject recognition of an image stored on the client device, wherein thefirst configuration rule associates a plurality of device property rulesincluding the first device property rule with the first feature, andwherein the operations further comprise: receiving, from the clientdevice, a current battery level and current amount of available storage;determining, by a server, that processing capabilities of the clientdevice exceed threshold processing capabilities indicated by the firstdevice property rule, the current battery level exceeds a minimumbattery level indicated by a second device property rule of theplurality of device property rules, and the current amount of availablestorage exceeds a minimum available storage amount indicated by a thirddevice property rule of the plurality of device property rules; andprior to enabling the first feature on the client device, determining,by the client device, that an updated battery level of the client deviceexceeds the minimum battery level indicated by the second deviceproperty rule and that an updated amount of available storage of theclient device exceeds the minimum available storage amount indicated bythe third device property rule.
 17. The system of claim 1, whereindetermining that the first property of the client device matches thefirst device property rule associated with the first configuration rulecomprises: retrieving a benchmark representing behavior of the firstfeature; computing a benchmark performance metric by running thebenchmark on the client device; and comparing the computed benchmarkperformance metric to a specified benchmark performance metric indicatedby the first device property rule associated with the firstconfiguration rule.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the first featurecomprises image backup functionality for the client device, whereindetermining that the first property of the client device matches thefirst device property rule associated with the first configuration rulecomprises: retrieving information indicating upload stability data forthe client device and a transcoding failure rate of the client device;determining that the upload stability data exceeds a stability thresholdindicated by the first device property rule and that the transcodingfailure rate exceeds a transcoding failure rate threshold indicated bythe first device property, rule; and in response to determining that theupload stability data exceeds the stability threshold and that thetranscoding failure rate exceeds the transcoding failure rate threshold,enabling the image backup functionality for the client device to backupimages captured by the client device.
 19. A method comprising: inferringthat a user of a client device is interested in a first feature of aplurality of features of a messaging application implemented on theclient device; in response to inferring that the user is interested inthe first feature, accessing a first configuration rule of a pluralityof configuration rules that associates a first device property rule withthe first feature of the plurality of features of the messagingapplication; determining that a first property of the client devicematches the first device property rule associated with the firstconfiguration rule; and in response to determining that the firstproperty of the client device matches the first device property ruleassociated with the first configuration rule, enabling the first featureof the plurality of features on the client device.
 20. A non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium that includes instructions that, whenexecuted by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine toperform operations comprising: inferring that a user of a client deviceis interested in a first feature of a plurality of features of amessaging application implemented on the client device; in response toinferring that the user is interested in the first feature, accessing afirst configuration rule of a plurality of configuration rules thatassociates a first device property rule with the first feature of theplurality of features of the messaging application; determining that afirst property of the client device matches the first device propertyrule associated with the first configuration rule; and in response todetermining that the first property of the client device matches thefirst device property rule associated with the first configuration rule,enabling the first feature of the plurality of features on the clientdevice